We all want you to have fun in Truckee and Lake Tahoe, but sometimes vacations can get out of hand. An innocent night of fun can turn into a criminal case that follows you home.
Snowboarding turns to drinking, you drive back to your cabin thinking you’re “fine,” and suddenly you’re staring down the barrel of a DUI charge. As Truckee criminal defense lawyers, we see it all the time.
You might think you can just skip town and ignore the charges, but you’d be wrong. Don’t assume that prosecutors won’t follow up. Don’t go home and hope it all goes away. Attempting that strategy is a good way to get you into even more trouble than you’re already in. Prosecutors take vacation crimes seriously, especially when the charge involves operating a vehicle while under the influence. They will aggressively pursue a case, so we recommend you speak to an attorney as soon as possible to obtain the best possible result. The attorneys at Cohen Defense Group are here and ready to help.
Whether you are a local or a Bay Area or Silicon Valley resident facing criminal charges in Truckee or Tahoe, Cohen Defense Group is here to help. Call us at 530-563-3009 or fill out our contact form today for a free consultation. A local attorney who knows the local court system can make all the difference.
What to do if you are charged with a crime in Truckee-Tahoe
Take these steps:
1. NEVER contact victims or witnesses.
2. DO NOT speak to law enforcement unless your attorney advises you to do so.
3. DO NOT post about the incident online.
4. DO gather citation numbers or paperwork in your possession.
5. DO contact a qualified Tahoe or Truckee criminal defense attorney IMMEDIATELY. Cohen Defense Group is LOCAL and here to help.
Failing to respond to vacation charges can complicate your life in the short term and wreck your life in the long term.
We can provide a great deal of help at different stages of your case.
Pre-charge:
• In-depth pre-filing discussions that leverage our relationships with the District Attorney (DA) in both jurisdictions give us the opportunity to provide context and positive information before charges are filed.
• Pre-charge negotiations can result in lesser charges being filed or prevent charges altogether
Active Case Phase:
• A local attorney can appear in local courts for you when allowed, so you don’t have to travel.
• If you have to be present, we’ll request permission for you to appear on video.
• We can negotiate reduced charges or dismissals.
• We can get your case to the right jurisdiction or use jurisdictional errors to your advantage.
• We can handle DMV matters that may also result from a DUI or BUI (Boating Under the Influence) charge.
• We’ll seek positive results that mitigate any collateral consequences involving your job, professional license, or driver’s license.
Remember! A Tahoe vacation case can follow you home and wreck your life if you ignore it.
Reach out today for a free consultation.
It’s natural to start looking for an attorney in your home city, and you should, of course, hire whoever you’re most comfortable with. But there are real advantages to working with an attorney who knows the Truckee-Tahoe area well.
1. You get the same level of skill. We handle the same sorts of complex cases in the Truckee-Tahoe area that big-city attorneys handle. People are people, whether you’re in Los Angeles or Truckee.
2. We have existing relationships with local judges, District Attorneys (DAs), and court staff members. This increases your chances of getting a more positive result, including potentially getting your case dismissed.
3. Because we are local, we can appear on your behalf when the courts allow. You will not have to travel or pay a lawyer for travel expenses. We are already here.
4. No one knows the local court staff and what matters to them better than we do. We’ll use our knowledge to get you the best deal possible when a plea bargain is the best alternative.
5. Our real-world experience with the District Attorney (DA), who will try your case, and the judge, who will decide your sentence, allows us to give you solid advice about whether or not to try your case.
We advocate choosing one attorney to represent you. Some of our clients want one local attorney and one from home, but “too many cooks” is a real phenomenon in criminal defense law, and choosing more than one can often complicate your case.
Reach out today for a free consultation.
Most of the common offenses come from people just trying to enjoy themselves. We have seen many good nights at popular hangouts like West End Beach at Donner Lake, Kings Beach, or local Truckee bars such as T-Club (Tourist Club) and Past Time, turn into interactions with law enforcement. The most common crimes are:
• DUIs
• BUIs (Boating or jet skiing under the influence)
• Open container violations
• Public intoxication in resort zones
• Bar scuffles
• Loud parties at rentals
• Trespassing
• Wildlife-related violations
• Park violations
• Ski/snowboard resort pass violations
If you’re thinking, “I don’t act up on vacation,” that’s probably true. But it’s easy to misjudge how much you’ve had to drink with dinner, and it’s easy to end up catching a public intoxication charge if you happen to annoy the wrong police officer at the wrong time.
Tahoe-Truckee criminal charges: time is of the essence
Charges do not disappear just because you leave town! Your professional life and your future freedom may be impacted if you fail to deal with vacation charges right away.
You may lose track of what is happening with your case once you’re home, which means you may not realize your driver’s license has been suspended, or that there is a warrant out for your arrest.
These issues often surface months or even years later, sometimes in entirely different counties or states. It’s something we hear about all the time, especially when someone is interviewing for their dream job.
The better way: get a local lawyer to resolve your case early. If you move fast enough, a firm like Cohen Defense Group may be able to help you before charges are ever filed. We can help you limit penalties and protect your record.
Reach out today for a free consultation.
Truckee-Tahoe is a unique place to be in legal trouble. Understand the landscape.
Tahoe-Truckee courthouses
When you’re visiting the Truckee-Tahoe area, you’ll be crossing, playing, or staying in multiple counties: Nevada, Placer, and El Dorado. One of the first things you’ll have to do is figure out which county your case is located in. For example, Northstar is in Placer County, and it’s in Truckee, but the “Town of Truckee” is in Nevada County.
Note: we are talking about Nevada County, not the State of Nevada.
Knowing the right county helps you find the correct courthouse.
In El Dorado:
South Lake Tahoe Courthouse
1354 Johnson Blvd #2
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
eldorado.courts.ca.gov
In Placer County:
Placer County Superior Court—Tahoe Courtroom
2501 N Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, CA 96145
placer.courts.ca.gov
In Nevada County:
Truckee Courthouse
10075 Levon Ave
Truckee, CA 96161
nevada.courts.ca.gov
But be careful, because this gets even more complicated. For example, CHP handles a lot of DUI pullovers. They’re not always well-versed in jurisdiction lines, which means they might ask for a case to be charged in Placer County when it should be charged in Nevada County, especially if you are pulled over on I-80 or Hwy 267.
The line switches quickly—sometimes it even zig zags back and forth. If you aren’t from the area, you’d never know for yourself which county your case should be in. An out-of-area attorney may mistakenly trust that CHP wrote the ticket correctly, whereas our attorneys know the area and recognize when jurisdiction needs to be challenged.
Jurisdiction issues can work in your favor.
If the jurisdiction is wrong, the filing county won’t be able to move forward with prosecution.
If this delays your case being heard, other issues might arise, like a violation of the statute of limitations. Most misdemeanors have a 1-year statute of limitations. If the time to prosecute has run, it prevents prosecution by any county.
You need an attorney to check jurisdiction and related issues, because crossing a single street can change the county you’re dealing with and the court that is supposed to handle the case.
Be very clear: you must hire an attorney licensed in the state where the charges were filed. The best way to proceed is by hiring a local Truckee-Tahoe attorney.
Understand that you still must attend your court dates even if you live far away. However, hiring an attorney can mean spending less time in courtrooms. Your attorney can request to appear on your behalf. You may be able to appear remotely, through the court video system. Filing the right paperwork may mean you never have to appear in person.
What’s the appropriate paperwork? Different courts have different rules, which means your attorney might have to file one or all of the following. Keep in mind that a San Francisco attorney may not be familiar with the specific local rules.
• Penal Code 977: Waiver of Defendant’s Physical or Remote Presence – Allows an attorney to appear on your behalf.
• Request to Resolve Case in Absentia – Another filing that allows an attorney to appear on your behalf.
• Remote Appearance Request Forms – These allow you to appear remotely, via video link. Each county has different forms and procedures for this request.
If you’re looking at a felony, you’ll almost always have to appear on the first court date, though in some cases you may be able to appear remotely. Our attorneys can advise you on this.
Out-of-county warrants & failure to appear
Do not miss your court date.
Doing so can result in a warrant for your arrest.
The next time you get pulled over, you risk not only being taken into custody but also a scenario in which the judge may not allow you to post bail. That means you’ll have to sit in a Placer County, Nevada County, or El Dorado County jail until your case is resolved.
Don’t think living out of state will save you. You’re playing with fire if you assume you’re on the safe side of the line.
Ignoring the problem means:
• The possibility of arrest during routine stops
• Catching another charge, for example, if you drive around on a suspended license
• Harsher punishments
• Warrants that appear on criminal records and background checks, affecting housing and employment prospects
• Being held in custody while you are transported from one jurisdiction to another. (This means they could keep you in custody, transport you from your town to Tahoe/Truckee, and keep you in custody until your case is resolved.)
These are real risks from real cases.
One of our clients didn’t know his license had been suspended for two years. He’d hired an attorney. There was a miscommunication with that attorney, and the client went about his business, thinking all was well.
All was not well. The client got pulled over for an unrelated traffic incident. He got charged with a misdemeanor for driving with a suspended license. He was facing potential fines, probation, and minimal jail time.
If he’d had a lawyer with expertise in criminal law, DMV cases, DUI cases, and the local area, he’d have been properly notified, and he wouldn’t have faced this terrifying problem.
Reach out today for a free consultation.
Snow can close I-80 over Donner Summit or to Reno, but that doesn’t mean you get an automatic pass on missing your court date.
The court is willing to make accommodations for weather conditions; however, you or your attorney will need to notify the court if you can’t appear. The court will normally allow a continuance to the afternoon to give you more time to get there, or may allow you to appear in court remotely.
A local Truckee-Tahoe criminal defense lawyer gives you a direct line where it matters most: to the local courts and judges who can grant your request.
Without that, you could end up with a bench warrant.
During instances of severe weather, the courts will post court closures on their website:
In El Dorado: eldorado.courts.ca.gov
In Placer County: placer.courts.ca.gov
In Nevada County: nevada.courts.ca.gov
Having a local, boots-on-the-ground lawyer in Truckee-Tahoe can mean the difference between a highly successful case outcome and a failed one.
District Attorneys (DAs) vary a lot in the deals they’re willing to offer, and judges vary a lot in their opinions about how a case should be resolved.
Plus, there are stages to these negotiations. Sometimes you have to forgo one stage to get to the next.
When you work with a local Truckee-Tahoe criminal defense attorney, the process can move more quickly because your lawyer knows what to expect and how to negotiate at each stage.
Reach out today for a free consultation.
How a local Tahoe-Truckee lawyer can negotiate in a DUI case
On a DUI conviction, California has mandatory minimum jail sentences. Some counties use those as their starting position in negotiations. For a first-time DUI, that’s 2 days.
But some counties start much higher.
If your non-local attorney goes in thinking a District Attorney (DA) is ready to talk about a deal without knowing that county’s legal culture, negotiations become far more difficult. The divide in expectations is too high, which can cause cases to drag on, frustrating the DA and leading to a worse outcome for you.
You might be unpleasantly surprised because your Bay Area attorney tells you one thing and then comes back with something you were in no way anticipating. The attorney won’t be lying when they tell you this; they just won’t know because they don’t work in this area.
Having an attorney who appears in the Tahoe-Truckee courts every week guarantees that you will get accurate information about the likely outcome of your case and how it can be improved.
Reach out today for a free consultation.
How a Tahoe-Truckee lawyer can help with a driver’s license suspension
With criminal charges involving driving, there are often potential DMV consequences, in addition to criminal consequences. Not addressing both can have detrimental consequences. It would be easy to think that you are done handling a case because you took care of your criminal matter. You may be completely unaware that there is also a DMV issue, potentially a license suspension. This issue can pop up in the future, causing even more legal problems for you. At Cohen Defense Group, our attorneys are experienced in both criminal and DMV matters. We can help you handle everything and prevent future headaches.
Reach out today for a free consultation.
Common Tahoe Truckee crimes and what you should know about each
Drug possession crimes in Truckee-Tahoe
Do not bring illegal drugs into the Truckee-Tahoe area.
• What you may think is just drug possession can be charged as felony possession with intent to sell, depending on the circumstances.
• The goal in these cases is to spot issues that could ultimately get the case dismissed or reduced to straight possession, which is a misdemeanor.
• If you have prior offenses, even possession can be charged as a felony.
If a drug case is charged as a misdemeanor, you may be eligible for diversion programs instead of jail.
But here, again, a local lawyer is the way to go. We know the options you’ll find at each courthouse. Every county has its own process, and knowing each courthouse’s process helps you get into programming quickly if diversion is an option for you.
Property & trespass issues in Truckee-Tahoe
Trouble can start on your vacation from the moment you arrive at your lake house or Airbnb:
• If you’re accused of property damage.
• If you refuse to leave a bar when asked.
• If you’re accused of theft or vandalism at ski resorts or marinas.
While you can, of course, protect yourself by respecting private property as much as possible, accusations can arise, and if they become criminal charges, then you need to be prepared to deal with them.
Wildlife and park violations in Truckee-Tahoe
Wildlife and park violations in Truckee-Tahoe often involve hunting or fishing without a license or exceeding the legal quota. Common hunting areas include the Truckee River Wildlife Area and the “7X” deer hunting area, while popular fishing locations include the west shore of the Truckee River, Boca and Stampede Reservoirs, Lake Tahoe, and Donner Lake. In such cases, hiring an attorney early can help prevent charges from being filed or get the case dismissed. Hiring a local attorney can be very helpful because they will be familiar with the local legal culture regarding such charges and the typical steps for getting them dismissed.
Snowboard and ski season pass violations at resorts
Ski and snowboard passes are rarely transferable! Unless you have a Gold Pass or similar, you should only use your own ski pass at a Truckee or Tahoe resort. It doesn’t matter how similar you think you look to the passholder. Ski resorts have been ramping up their efforts to catch people violating their policies by working with law enforcement.
Using someone else’s ski pass can:
Be charged as a misdemeanor for theft of services.
• This is considered a crime of moral turpitude, so be careful!
• It can reflect on your character or truthfulness during a criminal records check.
• It can significantly impact future employment.
The act may seem minor, but you should treat it like a serious crime. Reach out today if you are in trouble for a pass violation at: Northstar, Palisades, Alpine, Sugarbowl, Donner Ski Ranch, Soda Springs, Boreal Tahoe Donner Downhill or Cross Country, Heavenly, or Kirkwood.
Lake Tahoe vacation crime case studies
Here are just a few examples of our successes in Truckee-Tahoe criminal cases.
Case study #1: Truckee ski resort domestic violence charge reduced
While domestic violence isn’t a common vacation charge, it does happen.
The client and his family were here on a ski vacation. During a verbal argument, the client’s daughter called the police.
They lived out of state. That meant coming to court dates would be difficult. Fortunately, we were able to handle the case for him, appearing on his behalf so that he didn’t have to travel back and forth.
My client was scared, and he had every right to be. There was the emotional component. This family came here every year for the winter holiday and wanted to keep coming back. Tough, with a criminal conviction.
He also had a professional license to worry about. A conviction could have been the end of his career.
Fortunately, we were able to get the case dismissed long before he ever had to come to court.
Case study #2: Misdemeanor talked down from a felony at a Tahoe ski resort
Another out-of-state client chose to hire us before charges were filed. He could have been charged with not only felony charges, but with serious and/or violent felonies (commonly referred to as strikes). We immediately opened communication with the district attorney. This allowed us to frame the narrative and provide context and nuance beyond the stark, bare-bones facts offered in the police report.
We were able to negotiate the charges down to misdemeanors, improving our chances of winning concessions in future negotiations.
The client went back home.
We got the case dismissed before he ever had to return to Truckee, something that might have been impossible had the case still been classified as a felony, much less a strike felony.
Case Study #3: Nevada County & Placer County DUI
This client had one DUI charge in Truckee (Nevada County) and one in Roseville (Placer County).
Because we have offices in both locations, it was easy for us to handle both cases for her. We assessed the situation, quickly gathered helpful materials, and resolved both cases at the first appearance for the best possible outcome.
By acting quickly, we were able to resolve both cases as first-time DUI’s, which protected her from the more serious consequences of a second-time DUI (longer mandatory jail time, longer license suspension, and more classes to do before license reinstatement).
Case study #4: Tahoe vacation drug possession
Picture this: you’re with your partner in the car, enjoying a lovely day at Lake Tahoe. You get pulled over. Your car is full of controlled substances.
The substances belong to one of you, but both of you get charged.
That’s what happened to our client, the driver, not the owner of the drugs. We took the time to negotiate with the DA and to prove our client wasn’t the culprit. The result was deferred entry of judgment. The client was asked to comply with certain terms, which he did. His case was then dismissed.
Ultimately, he was spared a conviction and all the legal, professional, and personal consequences that come with one. He’s gone about his normal life at home and is a bit more careful about the people he travels with.
Get help now from a Tahoe-Truckee criminal defense lawyer
Don’t let a Tahoe vacation legal case ruin your life, threaten your career, or keep you from driving.
Want to protect yourself fast? Get a lawyer who knows local Truckee-Tahoe courts, local rules, and local jurisdictions.
Contact us for a free, confidential consultation today: 530-563-3009
Cohen Defense Group Gets Results
Driving Privilege Reinstated
My client's driver's license was suspended for driving under the influence. I contested the suspension at a DMV hearing and called the forensic toxicologist as a witness. After hearing testimony, the hearing officer set aside the suspension and reinstated my client's driving privilege.
